Mark Bowen has revealed all on how he managed to sign Spanish midfielder Bojan for Stoke City back in 2014.
Once dubbed the next Lionel Messi, Bojan, who scored 900 goals throughout the various age groups of Barcelona's youth setup, and Stoke were an unexpected match when he agreed to sign for the Potters.
Surprisingly, this wasn't the only transfer made between the two clubs in that period. A year later, Ibrahim Afellay moved to what is now the bet365 Stadium from the Spanish giants. But it's the Bojan deal that will forever live in infamy.
Mark Bowen reveals how Stoke convinced Bojan to join the club
Bowen, who was City's assistant manager at the time, still can't believe that they managed to pull the move off.
"I don't know to this day," said Bowen, on the Business of Sport podcast, when asked how they managed to convince the Spanish midfielder to sign for Stoke. "His agent was Carles Puyol - ex-captain of Barcelona.
carles puyol
"They came in with a little entourage; Bojan, Puyol.I think it might have been Afellay who spoke Spanish because he knew (Bojan), because he spent some time with Barcelona.
"Afellay goes over and he bursts out laughing. He comes over and I go to Afellay 'What's happened?' And he said Puyol had just gone 'What are we doing here?' So that's his agent walking in the building and saying 'What are we doing here?'
"But we said 'No he'll love it here. We'll build the team around him and all this, like, whatever."
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The now 34-year-old Bojan spoke to talkSPORT about his experiences during the years that he spent with Stoke, and the process behind him signing for them.
He said: "I got a call (from Stoke), and then I decided in that summer, and it was the best option, I felt I wanted to be part of a new club and start a new chapter.
"My focus was to play in the Premier League, and I appreciate all the weeks, training. The atmosphere, no matter home or away, it is unique, it is the best place to be as a player.
Bojan's Stoke career stats
Appearances
Goals
Assists
Source: Transfermarkt
"I received a lot of love from fans and staff from the first day, it is my second home. It is a small, but family club, and most of all they are fantastic people!
"I have to thank Mark [Hughes] for giving me the opportunity, I always felt his confidence, we had great memories.
Bojan continued: "I was so happy playing at the Britannia Stadium in front of the Stoke fans, so the weather did not really bother me."
bojan stoke
Mark Hughes may have been the manager at the time of the Spaniard's arrival, but there was still quite a whiff of Tony Pulis and his era about the place in the summer of 2014.
When you think of the Welsh manager's style of football, which has recently been likened to how Premier League side Arsenal are currently playing, you wouldn't associate it with a generational talent from the Barca academy system.
It was such a weird and wonderful match that will always bring smiles to faces when people think back about it.